If no Bush official will be prosecuted for torture, why the hell were the documents released?

[Kablooie]

They must have known that it would start up a fire storm.

(Though the main news services seem to just yawn and change the subject.)

What purpose did releasing the docs serve?
Is it intended to justify the use of torture to the public?
To mollify us in some way?

Or intended to stir things up and cause a popular revolt?

Neither result seems to make any sense.

I just don't understand what's going on here.

[dipsydoodle]

1. Trouble maker

using an open, honest and intelligent question.

[Kablooie]

4. I like doing that now and then, between my inane flippant annoying remarks.

[dipsydoodle]

6. Copycat

Me too. :rofl:

[Kablooie]

23. What an inane, flippant, annoying thing to say.

[thunder rising]

2. us ... we don't understand what's going on here.

Obama proves it's not "the white and powerful" doctrine ... it's just a powerful doctrine. Same shit sandwich.

[Skittles]

3. throwing us a bone

it's the "middle of the road" thing I detest

[lamp_shade]

5. He's been called a "deliberate, critical, and analytical thinker".

That should answer any questions about his motives.

[Bobbieo]

11. Obama has done his part by releasing the memos NOW it is up to us to

us to get the process in motion. We are doing it with signed petitions to AG Holder to hire a special prosecutor or whatever.

[lamp_shade]

12. All part of his plan. That is clear.

[MADem]

7. Perhaps it will encourage the writing of laws to make crafting of documents designed to

"cover" for crimes a crime in and of itself?

How can you fix a problem for good unless you expose the practice to the light of day?

There's no "justification" happening here. Knowledge is power. With the knowledge, we have the power to prevent this sort of circumvention from ever happening again.

[CJCRANE]

8. Obama alluded to this in his presser yesterday

in Trinidad & Tobago:

"And so if we are practicing what we preach and if we occasionally confess to having strayed from our values and our ideals, that strengthens our hand; that allows us to speak with greater moral force and clarity around these issues."

[meowomon]

9. I'm not ready to abandon the Obama team yet...

but I am still waiting on the punchline.

[flor-de-jasmim]

10. Releasing them makes perfect sense:

1) He makes the details clear when he says which practices will no longer be tolerated.
2) He gives the go-ahead to those of us who wish to put his feet to the fire.
3) He sets the stage for later prosecution. I believe him when he said he did not want his FIRST term to be dedicated to the prosecution - that's clean-up. I still bet he'll work on it in his own time.

[lamp_shade]

13. Excellent points, especially #3.

[Vinca]

14. Plus he's got something VERY big hanging over the GOP.

Unless there is a pardon there is no reason to believe there might not be prosecutions someday.

[ThomWV]

18. Nonsense. There is a Statute of Limitations and it expires next spring

A year from now the possibility of prosecutions begins to fall to the side, one crime at a time just as un-prosecutable as Ronald Reagan.

[ThomWV]

17. "In his own time" my ass. The statute of limitations kicks in next spring

Nothing will be done by this spineless President other than to protect the illegal powers George Bush took for himself and left for the the very guy who now clearly cherishes them.

[derby378]

25. Justice delayed is justice denied

I think the American people have suffered long enough. Bring on the prosecutions.

[Turbineguy]

15. There are plenty of witnesses

yet to come forward. This Administration is still new and not everything is certain. This is not a good time to risk the well being of your family by blabbering what you saw. Just yet.

[deacon]

16. Obama is officially an idiot. Too gutless for my taste, Good ideas at times, but no spine. n/t

[Cali_Democrat]

21. So Obama is officially an idiot and gutless, with no spine? Anything else?

Jesus H. Christ on a pogo stick.

Susan Boyle gets way more love here than Barack Obama.

:eyes:

[Kablooie]

26. A rather poor choice of descriptives there.

He may not be fulfilling your dream list of actions and you may be
displeased with this which is your perfect right, but 'idiot', 'gutless'
and 'no spine' does not correctly encapsulate our current president at all.

[Ian David]

19. He WANTS us to MAKE him do the right thing. That's our job. Remember...

It's "Yes, we Can."

[DevonRex]

24. Agreed. And we have to make Congress do the right thing, too.

[Ian David]

27. Congress helped make the mess. They should have to help clean it up. n/t

[Duende azul]

20. It may serve various purposes.

The release of the documents can´t be valued without the parallel promise of nonprosecution.
Some of the benevolent interpretations towards Obama could be read here in the past days.
(Obama opening the doors for deeper investigation, instilling the public to demand prosecution, passing the ball to congress...)

The more dire ones to less extent.

Limited hangout. With the publication (that thanks to ACLU had to be done anyways) they will sell it as case closed. Watch the media and take into consideration the "looking forward" rhetorics, this scenario seems highly probable.

And a probably intended side effect: desensitization. Now everyone is in the know. The outrage will sooner or later damp down. At least that´s what they plan for. Don´t forget you deal with a "24" preconditioned public. And with Kathrina they had a successful test-run how indifferent the broader public reacts to suffering of other humans in neoliberal/neocon times.
Later revelations of even worse crimes will meet an apathetic population.

Other side effect: Instilling of subliminal fear. Now you know officially how far your agency is willing to go. Just the deeds they admit are horrific. Not to speak of the not admitted ones who everyone seems to take as a given.
They want everyone to think twice of the risks before engaging in serious opposition.
If the torturers of any level remain untouchable that´s pretty clear to see. Hell, these sadists plan and do what ever they are pleased and no one goes after them?
I was tempted to answer a post of a DUer these days who said he´d go protest at the doors in Langley, asking him to make sure his people knew where he went. But then I felt I was only partly joking and didn´t post.

With good reason some at DU argue that Obama wasn´t allowed to prosecute because of the unspoken threat of a Kennedy-treatment: Fear at work on every level.

[rusty fender]

22. Right, and if no one should be prosecuted,

why is Linndie England and her boyfriend in prison? Only some people should be held accountable, but not others?